Tuesday, 26 February 2013

Gemstone Heist - Sex Tape

Single review by kev@thesoundofconfusion.co.uk

Going on the information we've been given we can only guess at how Gemstone Heist got together. Knowing it's project of two singer-songwriters - Ashley and Gail - might not seem unusual, but when you consider that one of these girls grew up in Liverpool and one in Kentucky then it gets a bit more interesting. We should be glad that this trans-Atlantic coming together of musical minds occurred though, because although their new single 'Sex Tape' is nothing more than acoustic guitar and singing, it makes a very welcome break from over-earnest blokes peddling the same tedious old crap.

It tells a harsh tale of drugs, violence and poverty to the simplest of tunes, and this only amplifies the message. It's worth heading to their Bandcamp page just to read the lyrics. It's not your traditional songwriter fare. It's partly the subject matter that makes this song so captivating, but equally the almost lazy, half spoken vocals and the sheer skeletal nature of the song. Gemstone Heist sound authentic, and that's something that's missing in so much acoustic music right now, so let's hope someone picks them up and gets their records some publicity. This is more deserving of any Brit award than Ben fucking Howard.